40. Аничковский мост – конные пары п. Клодта/The Anichkov Bridge – the horse pairs by p. Klodt, (1782-1787 an unknown author), 1839-1841

Authors: engineer – A.N. Gotman (1839 - 1841), architect –A.P. Bryullov (1839 -1841), sculptor-P.K.Klodt (1839 - 1841)

Address: over tfie Fontanka River, in Nevskiy prospect

The Bridge over the Fontanka River (along the Ncvskiy prospekt) originally called the Neva Bridge, was soon named after Lieutenant-Colonel M. Anichkov. whose regiment had quarters on the spot of ihe Palace of the Creation of Youth and participated in the bridge construction. On the site of a modem Anichkov Bridge, a wooden bridge was constructed in 1716. The f-'ontanka was one of ihe city's border, and the bridge served as a check-point. In 1783 - 1787 a wooden bridge was replaced with a stone one when the Fontanka's embankments were faced with granite. The bridge composed of three spans and had four granite towers, the middle part of the bridge was made of wood and was a lifting one. Seven single-type bridges were built over the Fontanka: nowadays there arc only two of them: the Lumonosov Bridge (Cheniyshov Bridge) and the Old Kalinkin Bridge.The present Anichkov Bridge was accomplished in 1841 by engineer A. Gotman, architect A. Bryullov and sculptor P. Klodt. The former stone construction was broadened and the towers were demolished. The three arch spans were made of brick, ihe other spans were faced with granite, the bridge-railings were created to the design by a famous Berlin architect K. Shinkel who designed the railings of the Palace Bridge in Berlin in 1822 - 1824. The railings' units were installed between cast-iron posts in the middle of which a dolphin was striving for the deep. On both sides of the posts there were sections with two drawings; on one side - sea-horses with a trident: on the other - two mermaids with a palm branch in hands. The composition was bordered with meander.The Bridge is lavishly decorated with four sculptured groups (figures of horses and tamers) placed on granite pedestals to the design by P. Klodt. The sculptured groups symbolize man's struggle with wild, uncontrollable forces of nature. The first two copper sculptures Horse with a Walking Youth and Youth Snuffling the Horse were placed in the western side of the Bridge in 1841. The sculptures on the eastern side were plaster copies placed provisionally. Copper statues that were to replace the plaster ones w'ere presented to King of Prussia Kridrich Vilghclm II by Nicholas II and are nowadays in Berlin. In 1844 plaster sculptures were replaced with copper ones, but in 1846 Nicholas II presented them to the King of Italy to thank him for the hospitality during the Russian Empress's voyage. Nowadays these statues can be seen in Naples. Later on copper statues were sent to Peterhof, Strcl'na and the Moscow estate of Prince Golitsyn -Kuz'minki.Finally, in 1851 the bridge set of horses was completed. P. Klodt created two absolutely new pair of horses and tamers thus having depicted fotir different stages of a horse conquest. The sculptures mtist be viewed counter-clockwise, beginning with the one nearest to the Anichkov Palace.During the siege the statues were dug in the garden of the Anichkov Palace and thus were saved - in the night of 6 November 1942 a 250 kg bomb fell on the Anichkov Bridge. The blast destroyed 30 m of the railings and the pedestals of the bridge-railings: granite pedestals were also damaged by the dcrriscs. At the war­time the bridge-railings were restored and not long before the Second World War was over copper statues were placed back on the Anichkov Bridge.

There are about 300 bridges in SP;. more than 20 of them are draw-bridges.